Saturday, 24 December 2016

Ebola vaccine gives 100% protection, study finds

An experimental vaccine against the Ebola virus was found to be 100%
effective, according to a study published in The Lancet on Thursday.
The results offerhope of better protection against the disease that
ravaged West Africa in 2014, killing more than 11,000 people.

“Ebola left a devastating legacy in our country. We are proud that we
have been able to contribute to developing a vaccine that will prevent
other nations from enduring what we endured,” said Dr. KeÏta Sakoba, the
director of the national agency for health security in Guinea.
The experimental vaccine was given in 2015 to people in Guinea who
were in contact with patients who had recently confirmed cases of Ebola.
A few months after the early trials, the World Health Organization
said the preliminary results were an “extremely promising development.”
While the study’s participants were initially randomized, the process
was stopped after initial results in order to get the vaccine to those
in need.
The trial involved more than 11,000 people, according to the WHO,
which led the trial in conjunction with Guinea’s Ministry of Health.
A total of 5,837 people were given the rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine, and none
had a recorded case of Ebola after 10 days or longer, the study says.
Among people who were not immediately given the vaccine, there were 23 cases, reports CNN